Page 217 - THE ONTARIO CURRICULUM, GRADES 9–12 | Classical Studies and International Languages

In addition to the final product produced by the group, an important aspect of the cooperative-learning process is having each group member examine how the group functioned in its task and evaluate his or her own contribution to the group process. Discussions, journal entries, and self-evaluation checklists are some ways in which students can reflect on the group work process and their part in it.
Dictogloss. Dictogloss is an activity in which students recreate a text read aloud in class. This strategy supports language learners in listening to and recalling good language models, while providing them with opportunities to collaborate and negotiate with their peers.
In the dictogloss strategy, the teacher first chooses a text and reads it aloud to the class at least twice. Teachers can make use of a variety of texts for a dictogloss activity: literature excerpts, content-area paragraphs, news items, narrative descriptions, and even technical procedures. After hearing the passage read aloud, students work in small groups to write down key words and phrases, and then try to reconstruct the text. This is followed by group editing and proofreading, then comparison of the texts generated by various groups. The activity culminates with a whole-class comparison of the reconstructed texts with the original text. The goal of dictogloss is not to produce a text that is identical to the original but to create one that is well worded and has the same information as the original.
Four Corners Activity. A four corners activity is one in which students are asked to respond to a strong or controversial statement. The goal of the activity is for students to be able to articulate their opinions, express them to others, and consider the merits of opposing opinions.
In this activity, the four corners of the room are labelled with four points of view (e.g., “Agree”, “Disagree”, “Strongly Agree”, “Strongly Disagree”). Students are asked to go to the corner of the room that corresponds to their opinion of or reaction to the statement. Students are given time to talk and to prepare a case to persuade their classmates to join their corner. They choose a spokesperson to explain their reason for choosing that corner. Time may be given after the four presentations for questioning or challenging other groups. Students are then asked to move to a new corner if they were swayed by another group’s presentation.
Graphic Organizers. The use of visual supports to increase language learners’ understanding of texts is an especially powerful teaching strategy. Graphic organizers, often also referred to as key visuals, allow students to understand and represent relationships visually rather than just with language, providing helpful redundancy in making meaning from the text. Graphic organizers can be used
to record, organize, analyse, and synthesize information and ideas. Examples of common graphic organizers include the following: timeline, cycle diagram, T-chart, Venn diagram, story map, flow chart, and problem-solution outline.
The use of a graphic organizer is extremely helpful when carried out initially as a class or group brainstorming activity. The graphic organizer provides a way of collecting and visually presenting information about a topic that will make it more comprehensible for language learners.
When using different graphic organizers, teachers should point out and model for students how particular graphic organizers are especially suited to various types of text organization. For example, the T-chart provides an ideal framework for visually representing comparison and contrast, while the flow chart is well suited to illustrating cause-and-effect relationships.
Guided Reading. Guided reading is a strategy that provides the scaffolding necessary for language learners to tackle a challenging text. In guided reading, the teacher meets with a group of students who are all reading at the same level. The teacher guides the students through the text with a series of structured activities for use before, during, and after reading the text.
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